Posts from ‘Renault’
1981 Rover 3500
Cancelled after just 22 episodes, Mr. Merlin was a sitcom starring Barnard Hughes as the legendary wizard Merlin working as a mechanic in modern-day San Francisco. The show’s saving grace was the casting of the lovely Elaine Joyce as one of Merlin’s fellow sorcerers.
10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars of 1973*
1973 Dodge Colt
We recently shared a list of Consumer Guide’s thirstiest gas guzzlers of 1973—you can check out that post here.
The 10 Slowest Cars of 1973*
1973 Volkswagen Bus
As you may have taken note while reading our 10 Fastest Cars of 1973 post, ’73 was a fairly entertaining year for the editors of Consumer Guide. Not only did my predecessors have the opportunity to evaluate a DeTomaso Pantera, but that year’s docket also included a cadre of “mini buses” and sport-utility vehicles as well.
1980 Ford Fairmont Futura Ad
The word “turbo” is enjoying massive marketing popularity these days. Advertisers and branding folks have slapped it on tools, energy drinks, and dietary supplements.
Is There a “Jeep Curse?”
After serving the country admirably in World War II, the Jeep’s history as a production vehicle has been somewhat rocky.
by Jack Stewart
Jeep is the Hope Diamond of the auto industry. Don’t get me wrong—I have nothing against Jeeps. They have always had great off-road prowess, and the original Jeep helped win World War II. But ownership of the Jeep brand has proved fatal (or at least bad luck) for all its corporate parents. Jeep has often found itself the profitable division of a failing company. Corporate acquisition of Jeep is like hiring Typhoid Mary to cook for your family—it won’t end well.
1986 Renault Encore
Consumer Guide Automotive has enjoyed the service of countless long-term test vehicles over the past few decades. As a matter of policy, those vehicles generally remained in our test fleet for a period of six to 12 months, and represented models that we felt were of special interest to our readers.
The 12 Slowest Cars of 1983*
With a 16.5-second 0-60 mph performance, the Imperial tied for 9th place on our slowest cars of 1983 list.
As a follow up to our The 10 Slowest Cars of 1981* post, we examine the state of new-car acceleration two years later. As it turns out, things did improve, but not probably as dramatically as shoppers at the time would have liked.
5 Forgotten Convertibles
Fifty of these Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme pace cars were built for 1988, all of which were recalled due to failures related to a lack of structural rigidity. Cutlass Supreme convertibles were reintroduced for 1990, this time with a “basket-handle” brace fixed just aft of the door openings.
I’m pretty good at remembering the cars and trucks made available for sale in the U.S. over the past four decades. I remember well the short-lived (Stateside) Rover 3500, and even spent time in an International Scout Diesel, but what I often forget are the convertible versions of certain vehicles.
The 10 Best-Looking Sedans of 1991
1991 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight Touring Sedan
Here’s a tip for you aspiring auto scribes out there: If you want to see a lot of reader feedback, create a best-looking list.
There’s almost nothing more subjective or arbitrary than an evaluation of something’s aesthetic qualities, and almost nothing more irresistible to readers. With that in mind, I present the 10 best-looking sedans of 1991.
5 Best-Selling Vehicles (in Russia)
Sadly, the UAZ 469 “Hunter” is not among Russia’s five best-selling vehicles. In truth, this cold-war-era relic didn’t make the top 20. We’re using the classically tough-looking Hunter as our feature image because Russians vehicles just look so darn normal these days.
Serbians knew it as the Zastava Koral, we, for a brief moment in time, knew it as the Yugo GV. To no one’s surprise, a peoples’ car designed around then 20-year old Fiat technology built behind the Iron Curtain didn’t sell especially well in the United States. Mostly we pointed and laughed. For you youngsters out there, the Yugo was a really bad car import from what was then known as Yugoslavia for the 1984-1991 model years. They didn’t sell well.
